The Parties shall
afford to each other the widest possible measure of mutual assistance
in investigations or court proceedings in respect offenses the
punishment of which at the time of the request for assistance,
falls within the jurisdiction of the judicial authorities of
the Requesting State.

Mutual assistance
to be afforded in accord with this Treaty may include:
a) Taking evidence or statements from persons;
b) Assisting in the availability of detained persons or others
to give evidence or assist in investigations;
c) Effecting service of judicial documents;
d) Executing searches and seizures;
e) Examining objects and sites;
f) Providing information and evidentiary items;
g) Providing relevant documents and records.

This Treaty does
not apply to:
a) The arrest or detention of any person with a view to extradition;
b) The enforcement of criminal judgments imposed in the Requesting
State except as permitted by law in the Requested State;
c) The transfer of persons in custody to serve sentences;
d) The transfer of proceedings in criminal matters.

Each Party shall designate
and indicate to the other Party an authority or authorities through
which requests for the purposes of this Treaty should be made.

ARTICLE
4

Refusal
of assistance

Assistance may
be refused if:
a) The Requested State is of the opinion that the request, if
granted, would prejudice its sovereignty, security, public order
or other essential public interests;
b) The offense is regarded as being of a political nature;
c) There are grounds to believe the request has been made for
the purpose of prosecuting a person on account of race, sex,
religion, nationality, ethnic origin or political opinions or
that person's position may be prejudiced for any of those reasons;
d) The request relates to an offense subject to investigation
or prosecution in the Requested State or which would be incompatible
with this State's law on double jeopardy;
e) The Requested State is required to carry out compulsory measures
inconsistent with its law and practice;
f) The act is an offense under military law, and not also an
offense under ordinary criminal law.

Before refusing
a request, the Requested State shall consider whether assistance
may be granted subject to certain conditions. If the Requesting
State accepts assistance under these conditions, it shall comply
with them.

Reasons shall be
given for any refusal or postponement of mutual assistance.

ARTICLE
5

Contents
of requests

Requests for assistance
shall include:
a) The name of the requesting office and the competent authority
conducting the investigation or court proceedings;
b) The purpose of the request and a brief description of the
assistance sought;
c) A description of the facts alleged to constitute the offense
and a statement of the relevant laws;
d) The name and address of the person to be served, where necessary;
e) The reasons for and details of any procedure or requirement
that the Requesting State wishes to be followed;
f) Specification of any time-limit to be complied with;
g) Other necessary information.

Requests and supporting
documents shall be accompanied by a translation into the language
of the Requested State or another language acceptable to that
State.

The Requested State
may request additional information.

ARTICLE
6

Execution
of requests

Requests for assistance
shall be carried out promptly. To the extent consistent with the
law of the Requested State, it shall carry out the request in
the manner specified by the Requesting State.

ARTICLE
7

Return
of material to the Requested State

Any property, records
or documents handed over to the Requesting State shall be returned
as soon as possible unless right of return is waived.

ARTICLE
8

Limitation
on use

The Requesting State
shall not use information provided for proceedings other than
those stated in the request.

ARTICLE
9

Protection
of confidentiality

Upon request:

a) The Requested
State shall endeavor to keep confidential the request for assistance
and its contents;
b) The Requesting State shall keep confidential evidence and
information provided, except as needed for investigation and
proceedings described in the request.

ARTICLE
10

Service
of documents

The Requested
State shall effect service of documents that are transmitted
to it.

A request to effect
service of summonses shall be made not less than ... days before
the date on which the appearance of a person is required. In
urgent cases, the time requirement may be waived.

ARTICLE
11

Obtaining evidence

The Requested State
shall take sworn or affirmed testimony for transmission to the
Requesting State.

Upon request, the
parties to the relevant proceedings in the Requesting State,
their legal representatives and representatives of the Requesting
State may be present at these proceedings.

ARTICLE
12

Right
or obligation to decline to give evidence

A person required
to give evidence may decline to do so where either:
a) The law of the Requested State permits or requires that person
to decline to give evidence in similar circumstances; or
b) The law of the Requesting State permits or requires that
person to decline to give evidence in similar circumstances.

If a person claims
a right or obligation to decline to give evidence under the
law of the other State, a certificate of the competent authority
of that other State as to the existence or nonexistence of that
right or obligation shall be relied on.

ARTICLE
13

Availability of persons in custody to give evidence or to assist in
investigations

Upon request, and
if the Requested State agrees and its law permits, a person
in custody may, subject to his or her consent, be temporarily
transferred to the Requesting State to give evidence or assist
in the investigations.

The Requesting
State shall hold that person in custody and shall return him
or her at the conclusion of the matter under investigation or
at such earlier time as that person's presence is no longer
required.

Where the Requested
State advises the Requesting State that the transferred person
is no longer required to be held in custody, that person shall
be set at liberty.

ARTICLE
14

Availability
of other persons to give evidence or assist in investigations

The Requesting
State may request the assistance of the Requested State in inviting
a person:
a) To appear in proceedings in relation to a criminal matter,
unless that person is the person charged; or
b) To assist in the investigations in relation to a criminal
matter.

The Requested State
shall invite the person to appear as a witness or expert in
proceedings or to assist in investigations.

The request or
the summons shall indicate the approximate allowances and the
travel and subsistence expenses payable by the Requesting State.

Upon request, the
Requested State may grant the person an advance, to be refunded
by the Requesting State.

ARTICLE
15

Safe
conduct

Where a person
is in the Requesting State pursuant to a request for assistance:
a) That person shall not be detained, prosecuted, punished or
subjected to any other restrictions of personal liberty in respect
of any acts or omissions that preceded the person's departure
from the Requested State;
b) That person shall not, without that person's consent, be
required to give evidence or assist in any other investigation
or proceeding other than that which the request relates to.

Paragraph 1 of
this article shall cease to apply if that person, being free
to leave, has not left the Requesting State within a period
of [15] consecutive days after having been officially notified
that his or her presence is no longer required or, having left,
has voluntarily returned.

A person who does
not consent to a request pursuant to article 13 or accept an
invitation pursuant to article 14 shall not, by reason thereof,
be liable to any penalty or subjected to any coercive measure.

ARTICLE
16

Provision
of publicly available documents and other records

The Requested State
shall provide copies of documents and records in so far as they
are open to public access as part of a public register.

The Requested State
may provide copies of any other document or record under the
same conditions as they would be provided to its own law enforcement
and judicial authorities.

ARTICLE
17

Search
and seizure

The Requested State
shall, in so far as its law permits, carry out requests for search
and seizure and delivery of any material to the Requesting State
for evidentiary purposes, provided that the rights of bona fide
third parties are protected.

ARTICLE
18

Certification
and authentication

A request for assistance
shall not require certification or authentication.

ARTICLE
19

Costs

The ordinary costs
of executing a request shall be borne by the Requested State,
unless otherwise determined. The Parties shall consult in advance
to determine the terms and conditions under which costs of a substantial
or extraordinary nature will be borne.

ARTICLE
20

Consultation

The Parties shall
consult promptly, at the request of either, concerning the interpretation
and application of this Treaty.

ARTICLE
21

Final
provisions

This Treaty is
subject to (ratification, acceptance or approval).

This Treaty shall
enter into force on the thirtieth day after the instruments
of (ratification, acceptance or approval) are exchanged.

This Treaty shall
apply to requests made after its entry into force, even if the
relevant acts or omissions occurred prior to that date.

Either Party may
denounce this Treaty by giving notice in writing to the other
Party. Such denunciation shall take effect six months following
the date on which notice is received by the other Party.